Belgium's 4-1 rout of USA hands sportsbooks one of their biggest-ever soccer wins

Belgium ended the United States’ 2026 World Cup on Monday night in Seattle, routing the hosts 4-1 in the Round of 16 — and in doing so handed sportsbooks across the country one of their most profitable nights in soccer history.

Throughout the tournament, public money had flooded in on the USMNT at record-breaking levels. Caesars Sports reported a record number of unique customers wagering on the USA-Belgium match alone, with 81% of money backing the Americans in the To Qualify market and 78% of handle on the Match Betting market. Had the USA advanced, it would have been another painful night for the books.

“It was a bad result for the U.S. but a good result for the book, which was always to be expected when/if they lost. It was one of the biggest wins we’ve had for a soccer game in company history,” said BetMGM trading manager Adair Horne.

The scale of the public’s exposure was underlined by a single wager placed at Circa Las Vegas on Fremont Street shortly before kickoff: a bettor staked $750,000 on the USA at -130 to advance. That ticket, along with countless others, ended up in the sportsbook’s coffers.

Folarin Balogun, whose red-card suspension had been lifted ahead of the match, attracted particularly heavy action on player props. Despite the attention, Balogun managed only one clear scoring opportunity and failed to convert.

“Given the attention surrounding Balogun, he was an extremely popular selection in both straight wagers and same-game parlays,” Caesars Sports head of soccer trading Mark Bickerdike said.

One market did pay out for bettors: Both Teams To Score, where 97.6% of Caesars’ handle was on Yes. Belgium’s Charles De Ketelaere opened the scoring in the ninth minute before Malik Tillman equalised with a free kick in the 31st. The relief was brief — De Ketelaere headed Belgium back in front less than two minutes later, and the USA never recovered.

Beyond the match betting, the public had also backed the USA heavily in outright World Cup futures throughout the tournament, compounding the books’ gains with the Americans’ elimination.